Meghalaya mortgaged to coal lobby

Patricia Mukhim
The Statesman, 3 December

In 2005, the Meghalaya Adventurers Association headed by national award winner Brian Kharpran filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court challenging the rampant mining of coal and limestone around what is reputed to be one of Asia’s longest cave system. On hearing the case, the apex court directed the Meghalaya government to come up with a policy on mining. This task has proven to be the biggest challenge to the government as mining in Meghalaya is a licentious, laissez faire exercise.

Meghalaya has some of the most extraordinary cave systems which attract speleologists from across the world. Kharpran, himself an avid caver, has mapped several of these, making it easier for adventurers to explore them with lesser casualties. Kharpran is part of several international organisations that look at caves not merely as protected spaces but as crucial repositories of a unique biodiversity.

When the apex court gave its directive, JD Rymbai was chief minister. At that time the then chief secretary constituted a committee comprising officials, coalmine owners and members of the MAA, to work out a fair policy. But Rymbai lost his chair to DD Lapang and the committee was short-circuited. It might sound weird but the portfolio of mining and geology went to none other than an MLA representing the coal belt, who is himself a coal trader. This man had made his millions from coal and contested the elections merely to have a taste of power. He ensured that the committee was buried alive and replaced the bureaucrat who showed enthusiasm to draft the mining policy with one who is known for his acute craftiness to keep politicians happy.

Now, two years down the line Meghalaya is yet to have a mining policy, even as reckless exploitation of coal and limestone has destroyed the entire eco-system of those areas where the minerals occur. Water bodies have been systematically poisoned. Forests are denuded without any qualms despite the existence of a top heavy state forest department and also the presence of the ministry of environment and forests in Shillong. Unregulated quarrying continues anywhere and everywhere, often devastating catchment areas which used to be sources of fresh water. Coal is mined unscientifically through the rat hole method, making it not just a wasteful venture but also very dangerous for miners.

In the absence of a mining policy, abandoned mines have not been reclaimed. They are a holocaust waiting to happen. Should an earthquake hit this place the destruction would be enormous, also because Meghalaya is located in a very vulnerable seismic zone. Lumshnong in the Jaintia Hills is rich in coal and limestone, but the area also houses the amazing Krem Kotsati cave whose entrance is already blocked by debris accruing from limestone and coalmining activities. Exploiting limestone requires blasting. This is extremely dangerous for the caverns as they could be destroyed forever.

Blind followers of the cult of exploitation, such as the coal and limestone lobby, consider caving a voyeuristic hobby of the affluent town-dwellers. Little do they bother to educate themselves that life is not for one generation and one species only. Other creatures have as much right as the greedy coalmine owner to live in an environmentally sustainable atmosphere.

Besides, caves are more than grottos. They house a rich bio-diversity which influences climate to a large extent. Living in the underground world of caves is an astonishing array of creatures. Although all live underground, their ecosystem is linked to the surface above and any changes that humans make here can affect their subterranean habitat, natural heritage and biodiversity. Cave creatures play an essential role in underground ecosystems by decomposing organic matter and recycling nutrients through the food web. Many of them are very rare, and include ancient, primitive forms no longer found on the surface. They provide important information for studies of evolution and ecology. It is crucial therefore to maintain the natural surface vegetation for the survival of cave ecosystems.

Meghalaya is perhaps the only mineral rich State without a mining policy. Coalmine-owners will do their best to thwart the policy because they prefer to operate in opacity. Since this powerful coal lobby financed the installation of the present government, naturally it has to protect their interests. So if the government which is elected to represent public interest is controlled by the coal lobby, then are we not all mortgaged and enslaved? Why talk of multinational funding agencies as sharks that threaten our economic and political freedom? In Meghalaya we have already sold our collective freedom to the coal mafia.

Since the eco-system in mining areas is completely defiled, drinking water is dwindling. What is available is water coated with sulphuric acid. The affluent coal dealers have already shifted base to Shillong, turning their backs on the ecological destruction they have caused. But the disempowered, with no voice to defend their rights, have to live and die in that ravaged environment.

Elections are just round the corner and this time more rich coal traders are in the fray It makes you wonder if one day the entire legislative assembly will be converted into a coal lobby’s stock market.

As a community, the tribals pride themselves on being the upholders of a noble philosophy that reveres mother earth. Today that philosophy stands on its head. Money has replaced all the noble ideals and the cultural capital bequeathed by our ancestors. Culture is not about things external. It represents the more durable intrinsic values. Culture encompasses the traditional value systems that have stood the test of time. When a society loses its cultural values it is reduced to an empty crust which will disintegrate rapidly. Today money is the destroyer of everything we hold dear to our hearts. If the environment dies, we die with it. What is the use of money then?

(The author is a Shillong-based columnist and activist, and can be contacted at patricia17@rediffmail.com.)